Staff Writer
With an athletic mentality permeating through the air, it is no surprise to see an event such as Fit Fest being held at Springfield College. This year the annual event, co-sponsored by Campus Recreation and Bolducs Apparel, was held on Tuesday, to celebrate the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) National Recreational Sports and Fitness Day.
This year, as in previous years, the event went off without a hitch as a copious amount of Springfield College students filled the Field House. Many students strolled around the indoor track with hopes of putting their athletic abilities to the test or obtaining the coveted Fit Fest t-shirt.
In order to display their athletic ability, students partook in one of the numerous physical activities that were on hand. Those activities ranged from a 40-yard dash, vertical leap and push-ups, as well as an array of other fitness activities. On the other hand, those students with the t-shirt in mind stopped by the various tables throughout the infield. Students needed to receive 10 stamps for checking out a variety of exhibits to receive the t-shirt. The tables contained an abundance of information on different topics within fitness and general wellbeing. The topics ranged from nutritional information to proper condom use and grip strength.
While having all of this useful information at their disposal is a great thing, there are some who believe that the students are not taking full advantage of it.
“We have a lot of great information here at Fit Fest,” said junior Bethany Young, who worked the event. “Unfortunately, I’ve noticed a lot of kids not really paying much attention to the information each station has to share. The tables have lots of fast facts and good information. People do not have to spend a lot of time at the table, but they should take notice.”
“A lot of the kids will just go to a booth their friends are working at and get their sheet stamped so they can get a t-shirt,” Young added.
Young is not alone in her thinking, as sophomore Ryan Gower feels similarly. Gower also worked Fit Fest and believes the event has a lot of good information.
“Fit Fest has a lot more to offer than just the shirts and physical activities,” Gower said.
For instance, Gower’s table was solely on the importance of sanitizing your hands. At Gower’s table, there lay a hand sanitizing bottle and a poster listing the reasons someone would need to sanitize their hands and the negative effects of not doing so.
Young and Gower do not want their thoughts to take away from Fit Fest, as they both feel that it should be a fun event where students do partake in the physical events and receive t-shirts. However, in years to come, the two hope that students will take the time to take notice of the information at their disposal during Fit Fest. Rather than just thinking about their bodies, hopefully at future Fit Fests, students will think about their minds and spirits as well.